Original subtitles

NARRATOR: THe murder,

We were in Sandy's before he got killed .

I left around 2? Rickey stayed until, what?

-Four maybe? MICHAELSON : I came back. . .

. . .to see how things went. Fortas was dead .

NARRATOR: Key evidence,

We recovered the murder weapon, and it's registered to you.

MAN IOVER TV] : Police arrested basketball great, , ,

-, , ,Rickey Latrell, -Get me out of here.

He's prepared to put up his assets, including his mother's home.

Bail is set at $ 1 0 million.

NARRATOR: THe conflii ,

WYLER: Something's bothering you. -You' re letting Chris call the shots.

He doesn't know what he's doing .

I can't try this case and watch my back. . .

-. . .at the same time. -Jimmy came to me, okay?

You waited until we went to court to tell me! I can't trust you!

I' m not auditioning for the part of your pal !

NARRATOR: THe autograph seeker,

APPLETON : What are you doing?

You' re looking for anything with Rickey Latrell's name on it.

-No, that's not the case. -Let's go, Joel .

NARRATOR: THe rival agent,

LATRELL: Ken's been trying to represent me since college.

Some guys never learn to take no for an answer.

-And you' re one of them . -I am .

I know Hicks has been all over you guys.

-So have a million other people. -I've been with this guy a long time.

I don't want to lose him to Ken Hicks.

This is for you.

Ken Hicks gave me an envelope this morning, okay?

lt had a list of prosecution witnesses and phone numbers. . .

. . .of people who have damaging information about them .

I think we have to take a fresh look at Michaelson.

DOCKNOVICH : Okay, let's get started .

-How long did you work for Lee, Larry? LARRY : Year and a half.

-Why did you leave? LARRY : He fired me.

Why was that?

LARRY : Because I wouldn't play fast and loose with other people's money.

Would Lee Michaelson play fast and loose with money?

Oh, yeah.

DOCKNOVICH : How'd he do that? -Commingled funds.

Helped himseIf to short-term loans with a zero interest.

-He told you this? -He didn't have to tell me.

I was working in his office.

-What'd you do about it? -Hey. I' m 23 years old at the time.

I' m not looking to take anybody on.

I told you we' re gonna need some tangible evidence.

I can get tangible evidence. There are deposit slips. . .

. . .canceled checks. It's all there.

Why didn't you come forward on your own?

Wish I had a good answer, Chris. What it comes down to. . .

. . .is I'd like to stay in the sports management industry. . .

. . .and I've been fearful of consequences.

-So, what gives you the nerve now? LARRY : I don't know .

Maybe the prospect of Rickey going to prison while scumbag Lee goes free. . .

. . .was just a little too tough to live with.

IWYLER SIGHS]

Thanks for coming in, Larry.

-I should wait to hear from you? WYLER: Right.

SZYMANSKl : You know your way out? -Yeah, I' m good .

-This is it? -Obviously we need the documentation.

-We know he worked for Michaelson. -Yeah.

-And we know he was fired . WYLER: Look, let's not kid ourselves.

This is nothing .

We could go into court and string together a bunch of accusations. . .

. . .that will ruin Lee Michaelson's reputation.

When it's time to offer up proof, we can duck out.

Or we can wait and come up with some real proof.

There's one problem . While we look for proof. . .

. . .the prosecution makes a case and we miss a golden opportunity. . .

. . .to create reasonable doubt.

-Look for other opportunities. -This fell in our lap.

-That makes it easy, not right. -I don't think we' re looking to do it. . .

. . . because it's easy, okay? The fact is it's effective.

It's only effective if you can prove the allegations.

DOCKNOVICH : Meantime, witnesses put our guy at the scene. . .

. . .with motive, opportunity and inclination.

As far as I' m concerned, waiting for proof's a luxury we can't afford .

It is not a luxury.

If we go to court with charges we can't prove, we'll just hurt ourselves.

We'll be worse off than if we'd never gone with them .

You are the general manager of the basketball team . . .

-. . .the Las Vegas Storm, is that right? HASSICK: Yes, sir.

Would you be so kind as to explain, for those of us who don't know . . .

. . .what the job of a general manager is?

HASSICK: Basically, a general manager is a CEO.

You oversee trades, you' re in charge of the hiring and the firing of players.

You look for ways to maximize income and somewhere in there. . .

. . .try to win a few basketball games.

Were you in negotiations with the defendant. . .

-. . .when Sandy Fortas was murdered? -Yes.

-How much were you offering him? -$50 million over seven years.

-How much was he asking for? -$94 million over the same period .

-So you were $44 million apart. -That's right.

How high were you willing to go?

The final decision on that was up to Sandy Fortas.

All I did was to advise.

How high did you advise Sandy Fortas to go?

I advised him to stay right where he was.

Rickey Latrell's not Michael Jordan or Shaquille O' Neal . . .

. . .when it comes to filling seats or TV ratings.

IINDISTINCT WHISPERING]

His ability as a point guard, he's not Penny Hardaway. . .

. . .and he's not Gary Payton.

As good a season as Rickey had last year. . .

. . . I felt he could be replaced and I was fully prepared to do so.

Were you aware of whether or not Sandy Fortas was prepared to do so?

Sandy could be a soft touch, very sentimental . . .

. . . but when it came to doing business, he could say no to anybody.

Based on the conversations I had with him the morning of the day he died . . .

. . . he was absolutely prepared to let Rickey walk.

No further questions, Your Honor.

IWHISPERING]

What kind of relationship did you have with Mr. Latrell, Mr. Hassick?

I always thought Rickey and l had a pretty good relationship.

Then why was he negotiating with Sandy Fortas?

You've testified that that was your job, did you not?

Lee Michaelson's why.

What was it about Mr. Michaelson. . .

-. . .that you had a problem with? -Everything about him .

His demands were unreasonable, he lied repeatedly. . .

. . . he turned every negotiation into a war. And not just with Rickey, either.

This is with all his players. I don't know a general manager that can stand him .

Did your feelings regarding Mr. Michaelson affect. . .

. . .your feelings regarding Rickey Latrell?

HASSICK: No.

Well, then I' m confused about something .

You said on direct examination, and I quote:

" In terms of his ability as a point guard, he's not Penny Hardaway. . .

. . . he's not Gary Payton. "

At the beginning of last season, Mr. Hassick, you told Sports Illustrated. . .

. . . Rickey was the best point guard in the league. Were you misquoted?

I might have been engaging in a little preseason hyperbole.

DOCKNOVICH : Was his shooting this season a disappointment?

-No. -His number of assists?

I can't complain about his performance on the court.

But something happened to change your attitude towards him . . .

. . .and what I wonder is whether that something is Lee Michaelson.

I think Rickey should've reined him in more.

ls that what players commonly do with their agents? " Rein them in" ?

I don't know about players in general . I know that Rickey Latrell . . .

. . .should have shown Mr. Fortas the respect.

You think he should be punished for not showing him that respect, don't you?

What I think he should be punished for is murder.

Next to that, the rest of it doesn't much matter.

SCOTTO: How do you know the defendant, Mr. Parnell?

I was his teammate in Las Vegas.

Would you describe the nature of your relationship?

When Rickey first came to the NBA, he was 1 9 years old .

I' m 1 0 years older. I'd been in the league a while.

Guess you could say I looked out for him a bit.

Our wives became friends, we hung out.

For a while, everything was fine.

We had a head coach named Al O' Donnell . Sixty years old .

He'd been head coach ever since there was a team in Vegas.

Rickey and he had some disagreements.

Al used a set offense. Rickey liked to run.

Al was strict about practices. Rickey didn't like to be pushed .

One day Al accused him of dogging it. Rickey mouthed off and got sent home.

The next day Al was gone.

Did the defendant offer up any explanation as to what happened?

Objection. Calls for hearsay.

Goes to the defendant's state of mind .

Overruled . The witness may answer.

PARNELL: He said he told Sandy he couldn't play for Al .

He said when push came to shove, Sandy always gave him what he wanted .

SCOTTO: No further questions.

Who replaced Al O' Donnell as head coach, Mr. Parnell?

Phil Yaccavone.

You were dropped from the squad under Coach Yaccavone, is that right?

-Yeah. -Were a lot of other teams. . .

. . .vying for your services?

-No. -Given that you were cut loose. . .

. . .when he was fired, is it fair to say you were being protected . . .

-. . . by Coach O' Donnell? -I never looked at it that way.

ls it also fair to say that since you blame Rickey for his firing . . .

. . .that your testifying here today constitutes payback time?

No, sir.

-I' m not looking for a payback. -Okay.

GWEN : Do you guys need anything else?

-No, we' re fine. -Then I' m going home.

-Have a good night. -Thanks.

-What's going on, Jimmy? -Hey, Lee.

lmagine my surprise when three different clients called me today. . .

. . .and asked me if I'd ever stolen any money from them .

We heard some rumors we were just checking out.

MICHAELSON : Who did you hear rumors from?

Larry Silvestri .

Oh, Larry Silvestri . Well, there's someone you can trust.

I fired him for dealing coke out of the office.

He says he wouldn't steal for you.

I don't believe this. What's some drug dealer. . .

-. . . have to do with Rickey standing trial? -Good question.

MICHAELSON : You think I got jammed up with Sandy and had to kill him?

It's a theory. Yeah.

Except that it has no basis in reality. I have never stolen money from a client.

-And I didn't kill Sandy Fortas. -Are we to take your word?

MICHAELSON : Over Larry Silvestri's? Yeah.

You' re supposed to take my word over his.

LATRELL: When I' m looking at spending my life in prison. . .

-. . .don't tell me whose word to take. WYLER: Let us sort this out.

I told you this was gonna happen.

-I' m sorry, Lee. MICHAELSON : Okay. . .

. . . how do I prove to you that I' m not the guy?

Tell me. Help me.

WYLER: You have to let us do our work.

Nobody's gonna make accusations against you that can't be proved .

But you have to let us do our work.

I think it's probably best for me if I got someone else to be my agent for now .

Don't do this to me, Rickey.

GWEN : What are you doing?

ICLEARS THROAT]

You see my name on my shirt today, cookie? I' m out of uniform .

I' m here as a private individual to see Jimmy Wyler.

And for your information, he wants to see me.

He doesn't want to see you any more than I do.

Oh, well, you' re very wrong .

And you' re about to get yourself into a world of trouble.

-What can I do for you? -I come with a. . .

. . . potential development in the Latrell case, and you wanna hear about it.

Uh-huh.

It's a straightforward business proposition.

Convince Rickey Latrell to help me supply the collectibles market. . .

. . .and cut yourseIf in for 1 5 percent of the gross.

-What? -High-end collectibles.

Correspondence between Rickey Latrell and Sandy Fortas. Uniforms.

Anything from the day of the murder, a signed matchbook from the jet. . .

. . .the clothes he wore that day, the uniform he wore--

-What's your name? -Joel Mytelka.

-Still work for the building management? -Yes, I do.

Good, then I'll make this straightforward .

I am absolutely not interested . . .

. . .in getting into any business arrangement with you.

I don't wanna broker any deals, take any percentages.

I want nothing to do with it or you.

Oh.

ls it me or getting into collectibles that's a turnoff?

-What difference does it make? -With collectibles. . .

. . . I'd tell you about investment.

If it's me, I'd tell you a little bit about myself--

Mr. Mytelka, please don't do either of those things.

-Can I call you in a month's time? -No.

-Can I send you a catalog? -No.

Were you present, Mr. Sweeney, at an establishment known as Satch's. . .

. . .in the city of Boston on March 1 0th, 1 995?

Yes, I was.

-Was the defendant also present? -He was.

-Did you have occasion to speak to him? -Yes, I did .

What was the nature of that exchange?

lt starts out I' m standing at the bar waiting to order a drink.

This girl's standing next to me.

I strike up a conversation, you know, just to pass the time. . .

. . . nothing suggestive, nothing heavy, just bip-bap conversation.

At that point, Mr. Latrell approached me.

Would you describe Mr. Latrell at that moment?

He was very angry. Thought I was hitting on the young lady.

-Objection. Speculative. -Sustained .

Describe what happened next.

SWEENEY : He pushed me, I pushed him back. He hit me, and I hit him back.

All of a sudden, he's got a gun in his hand .

He said, and I quote. . .

. . . he was gonna "shoot my white ass dead then and there. "

SCOTTO: Did you press weapons charges? -I didn't. By the time cops came. . .

-. . . he ditched the gun. DOCKNOVICH : Objection.

Speculation on the part of the witness. Ask that it be stricken.

-So stricken. -No further questions, Your Honor.

Mr. Docknovich?

Your Honor, Mr. Mosely will be conducting cross-examination.

-You' re a Celtic fan, Mr. Sweeney? -Born and bred .

Okay. On March 1 0th, 1 995, Rickey Latrell was in Boston. . .

-. . .to play the Celtics, right? -Right.

-Did you go to that game? -No.

-How come? -Tickets are out of my price range.

Do you think it's possible that if teams weren't paying exorbitant salaries. . .

-. . .ticket prices would be lower? -Sure, it's possible.

But you don't begrudge Rickey Latrell the money he makes, do you?

This is America, right? He's entitled to whatever he can get.

So prior to the night in question, you had . . .

. . .absolutely nothing whatsoever against Rickey Latrell?

-That's right. -Not his salary, not his fame. . .

. . . not the fact that he played basketball for a living and certainly not his race.

That's right. Certainly not his race.

MOSELY : Have you lived in Southie all your life?

SWEENEY : Yes, I have.

Were you going to South Boston public schools. . .

-. . .during the school bus boycott of ' 74? -Yes, I was.

Were you kept home from school?

Your Honor, I' m gonna object to this line of questioning .

I' m entitled to examine the witness's upbringing . . .

. . . relative to the issue of racial prejudice.

BORNSTEIN : I'll allow it.

You' re gonna examine my upbringing?

Do you have a problem, Mr. Sweeney?

You' re gonna pass judgment on my mother?

May she rest in peace.

Absolutely, I got a problem with that.

Was your mother one of those screaming, "Go back to Roxbury" . . .

. . .at black schoolchildren as they got off the buses?

My mother wasn't as well-educated as you.

She just didn't see the value of putting her children on a bus. . .

. . .to Roxbury at 6:00 every morning .

What did your mother tell you about those black children from Roxbury?

That the niggers had to be stop--

-Objection. -Mr. Mosely.

One more word about my mother, I' m coming out of this box.

BORNSTEIN : Mr. Sweeney. -You hear me?!

BORNSTEIN : Bailiffs, come to the front.

You are not permitted to threaten anyone with violence. . .

. . .in my courtroom . If you do so again, I will hold you in contempt of court. . .

. . .and have my bailiff take you into custody.

I have no further questions for this witness.

CLERK: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth. . .

-. . .and nothing but the truth? -I do.

CLERK: State your name, please. -Deborah Cummings.

Be seated .

Ms. Cummings, do you know the defendant?

-Yes, I do. -Would you describe your relationship?

When Rickey would come to Miami, he'd call me up, we'd go out.

WEIKOPF: Was it a sexual relationship? -Yes.

-Was it a monogamous relationship? -No, it was not.

-So you would see other people? -Of course I would .

Did that fact come to the defendant's attention?

-lt did because he had me followed . -Objection. lrrelevant.

We believe that the defendant's volatility. . .

. . .and propensity for violence is directly relevant.

We ask the court to allow sufficient leeway to establish this volatility.

I'll give you one incident's worth of leeway, Ms. Weikopf.

Thank you, Your Honor. Ms. Cummings. . .

. . .what did the defendant do when he found out?

He went nuts.

Could you be more specific?

He convinced me to meet him in a private airport lounge. . .

. . . he followed me to the restroom . . .

. . . pounded my head against a wall and forced himseIf on me orally.

Would you like me to be more specific?

-I object to this, Your Honor. BORNSTEIN : Overruled .

WEIKOPF: Ms. Cummings, why did you never press charges?

I didn't want to be known as the girl who charged Rickey Latrell with rape.

And yet you' re here today. Why?

When I heard he was charged with murder, I felt an obligation. . .

-. . .to tell what I know about him . -No further questions.

-What do you do for a living? -I' m a dancer.

-A ballet dancer? -I' m a stripper.

Do you think the publicity you' re receiving here today. . .

-. . .will be of any use to you? -I have no idea.

-That's not why I' m here. -That's right.

You' re here because you felt an obligation. . .

-. . .to come forward . -That's right.

Would you have felt that obligation less acutely if Rickey had bought you. . .

-. . .the condo you asked for? -Objection.

Sustained . No foundation, Mr. Docknovich.

DOCKNOVICH : Are you acquainted with Arnold Rosenstein?

-Yes. -ls Arnold currently your boyfriend?

-Yes. -Are you aware. . .

. . .that Rosenstein was arrested . . .

. . .in March of 1 996 and charged with eight separate counts of fraud . . .

-. . .for cloning phone numbers? -Yes, I' m aware of that.

DOCKNOVICH : Are you aware those charges were reduced . . .

. . .to a single count of theft for which Mr. Rosenstein. . .

-. . . received a suspended sentence? -Yeah. So what?

Are you offended by that? There's murderers walking around free.

Ask that the witness confine her answers to the questions asked her.

My deepest apologies.

Does it seem strange that the charges against Mr. Rosenstein were reduced . . .

. . .after you agreed to testify for the prosecution?

That has nothing to do with me.

Tell us who the deputy DA was in charge of prosecuting Mr. Rosenstein.

Ms. Weikopf was in charge.

DOCKNOVICH : Paige Weikopf? -Right.

The same Paige Weikopf currently serving as co-counsel in this case?

How many Paige Weikopfs are there?

GWEN : Ken Hicks is here to see you. WYLER: Have him come in.

How are you, Jimmy?

-I' m good, Ken. How are you? -Please?

First off, let me tell you that your lieutenants. . .

-. . .are acquitting themselves admirably. -Glad to hear it.

Since you don't need me to keep you current. . .

-. . .let me leap into the reason I' m here. -Please.

As of today, I' m Rickey Latrell's new agent.

What a surprise.

Given the circumstances, Jimmy, he very well couldn't stay with Lee.

He knows me, he trusts me.

His career is at a critical juncture and he needs me.

-And what do you want from me, Ken? -I want you to be for me. . .

. . . rather than against me, that's for starters.

I know Lee is your friend .

I want you to know I bear him no ill will whatsoever.

I have no stake in who serves as Rickey's agent.

-It's none of my business. -I respect that position. . .

-. . .and I appreciate it. -Good . What else?

Not to disparage his attorneys, but Rickey's greatest asset is Rickey.

I want to make use of that.

-Meaning what? -Meaning he makes himseIf visible.

That could mean a celebrity website on America Online.

lt could mean THe Rosie O 'Donnell Show.

What I've scheduled for tomorrow . . .

. . .is a speaking engagement at Rickey's old junior high school .

-What is he gonna talk about? -His faith in God .

The difficulty of growing up poor and African-American.

His championship years at Syracuse.

I think it's a bad idea.

I told Carla that and I' m telling you that.

There's very little to gain and everything to lose.

Assume, for the sake of argument, that he's intent on doing it.

If he's intent on doing it. . .

. . . I won't resign as his counsel .

But I will insist that an attorney from the firm is present at whatever he does.

It's not a problem .

How much are you paying Silvestri?

-Excuse me? -The junior G-man. . .

. . .that worked for Michaelson. How much are you paying him?

lt violates the basic order of the universe for a black man to make money. . .

. . .off of a black man, doesn't it?

If you want to feed off Rickey Latrell, feed off him .

But spare me the pan-Africanism speech.

When this trial is over, my friend . . .

. . .and you' re opining about the criminal justice system on Larry King Live. . .

. . .when a line forms at the rear of your reception area. . .

. . .full of rich criminals looking to get off. . .

. . .when you wake up one day and you realize how easy it is. . .

. . .to get used to a seven-figure income. . .

. . .that's when you can talk to me about "feeding off Rickey. "

ls there anything else we need to cover today?

Just this.

Rickey needs for us to get along, Jimmy.

SCOTTO: Mr. Battaglio, would you tell the court what you do for a living?

BATTAGLIO: I' m a bookie. -In that capacity. . .

. . . have you met the defendant?

A mutual friend introduced us in his rookie year.

-Rickey was interested in betting football . -How did he do?

First year or so, pretty good . But he kept wanting more action.

He'd win 1 0 grand one week, bet 20 the next. lt caught up with him .

-In what way? -He started losing, bigtime.

Super Bowl weekend, he tried to catch up by betting on Dallas.

-How much did he lose? -$200,000.

He didn't have that kind of money to lose.

What, if anything, did he do?

He offered to shave points on one of the games as a way of canceling his debt.

SCOTTO: Would you explain what that means?

Most of the betting in basketball is done on the spread .

lt just doesn't matter who wins, it's how many points a team wins by.

Rickey Latrell is in a position to influence the outcome of the game. . .

. . . by scoring fewer points than he otherwise would .

SCOTTO: How did you respond to the defendant's offer?

BATTAGLIO: Told him I'd think about it.

-Did you think about it? -I did more than that.

I set up a second meeting, but this time I had a tape recorder in my briefcase.

I got him on tape offering to fix a game.

SCOTTO: Why did you want to do that? -Simple.

Sandy Fortas bet on the horses like there's no tomorrow .

When he won, he expected to be paid .

When he lost, suddenly his business took him out of town a lot.

Given Mr. Fortas' stake in keeping Rickey on a basketball court. . .

. . .and out of jail, I looked at the tape. . .

. . .as a means to an end . Call it what you will .

-Did you show the tape to Sandy Fortas? -Yes, I did .

-What did he do? -He took $600,000 out of a safe. . .

-. . .and bought it from me, right there. -In other words. . .

. . . prior to his death, Sandy was in possession of a tape. . .

. . .that could have both destroyed Rickey Latrell's career. . .

-. . .and put him in prison. -Yes, that's correct.

No further questions, Your Honor.

Sir, this tape that you allege making, do you have a copy?

Gave the only copy to Sandy.

If it was as incriminating as you say, why didn't you make another copy. . .

-. . .and use it to blackmail Mr. Latrell? -Because I' m not a blackmailer.

You've been convicted of bookmaking seven times.

That's right. That's because I' m a bookmaker.

It's my sole criminal enterprise.

IPEOPLE LAUGHING]

This game, in which you allege Mr. Latrell shaved points. . .

-. . . how many points did he score? -Twenty-five, maybe.

DOCKNOVICH : What was his prior scoring average?

In the same neighborhood .

-He had a pretty typical night, didn't he? -Except he missed two lay-ups. . .

. . .that would've beat the spread .

-Ever seen Michael Jordan play ball? -Of course.

-Ever see him miss a lay-up? -Sure.

ls it your testimony that Michael Jordan is shaving points?

-Absolutely not. -Oh, by the way. . .

. . .were you promised leniency for any future bookmaking arrests. . .

. . .in return for testifying today?

I' m testifying today so that I might be of service. Period .

You are quite an outstanding citizen, sir.

I have no further questions for you.

You may step down, Mr. Battaglio.

Mr. Scotto, call your next witness.

Uh. . . .

I need to see counsel in my chambers.

BORNSTEIN : It's been brought to my attention that a juror. . .

. . . may have been negotiating the sale of certain trial memorabilia.

Ms. Weikopf, you' re prepared to substantiate this?

Yes, I am, Your Honor.

Excuse me, Your Honor.

On what basis was this tape made?

On what basis were jurors placed under surveillance?

In a high-profile case, jurors are subject to pressures. . .

. . .that might not otherwise be present. To assure the integrity. . .

. . .of the jury system, we had every right to use law enforcement personnel . . .

. . .to observe potentially illegal activities.

Play the tape, Ms. Weikopf.

MYTELKA IOVER RECORDER] : Let's take a moment to give thanks, , ,

, , , that we live in a country where this is possible,

OTWELL: I'm not supposed to talk to anybody about the case,

MYTELKA: I'm not anybody,

I'm a licensed dealer in celebrity collectibles, And second, , ,

, , ,I'm not talking to you about the case,

I'm talking about the phenomenon of the case,

I'm talking to you about the historical record of the case,

I'm also talking about a boatload of cash,

OTWELL: What do you want me to do?

BORNSTEIN : The sheriff's department has been. . .

. . .conducting surveillance on you, Mr. Otwell .

We've learned that you've been negotiating with an individual . . .

. . . by the name of Joel Mytelka for the purpose of selling off trial memorabilia.

-ls that true? -Wait a minute. He came to me.

I didn't go looking for him .

-And what was it he was interested in? -Primarily the verdict slip.

He said if I could get it for him, it'd be worth $ 1 0,000.

Before you say anything else, we have a tape recording of you agreeing to do so.

BORNSTEIN : Mr. Otwell?

OTWELL: I meant no disrespect to the court.

I thought the trial would be over by that point.

I was entitled to take advantage of the opportunity.

We have an obvious problem .

Your Honor, it seems to me that it could be corrected . . .

. . .with an admonition from the court.

No. He was admonished before he was sworn in, he still entered . . .

. . .into the agreement. The people move that Mr. Otwell be replaced .

-Motion granted . -You' re kicking me off the jury?

BORNSTEIN : You sought to have financial interest. . .

. . .in the outcome of the trial, Mr. Otwell .

Unlike them, who are only here out of a sense of civic responsibility.

SCOTTO: Were you acquainted with Sandy Fortas, Ms. Phillips?

PHILLIPS: Yes.

-Describe for us how you knew him . -I was a cheerleader for his team .

-Did you know the defendant's wife? -Yes.

-Would you tell us how you knew her? -She was a cheerleader same time I was.

Would you characterize your relationship with her?

She knew everything that was going on in my life. . .

. . .and I assumed I knew everything about hers.

Somewhere along the way, did Carla leave the cheerleading squad?

Yes.

Would you tell us at what point that was?

The point at which she started sleeping with Sandy Fortas.

ICHATTER]

BORNSTEIN : Order. -Objection.

-No foundation. BORNSTEIN : Sustained .

SCOTTO: On what do you base your statement that Carla and Sandy Fortas. . .

. . .were sleeping together?

PHILLIPS: As soon as Carla joined the squad, Sandy was checking her out.

One day I saw her leaving the arena with him .

I asked what was going on and she told me, " Nothing . "

Within a week, she had a job in the front office.

She didn't tell me that nothing was going on after that.

But she left no doubt as to the fact that she and Sandy Fortas were. . .

-. . .carrying on a sexual relationship. DOCKNOVICH : Objection.

-Leading the witness. -I'll allow it.

SCOTTO: Ms. Phillips?

I knew all about it.

Were you aware of when Carla began seeing the defendant?

-Yes, I was. -To the best of your knowledge. . .

. . .what did that do to Carla's relationship with Sandy Fortas?

PHILLIPS: To the best of my knowledge, it ended it.

Rickey was very possessive.

And Sandy moved on to another black girl .

-lt also ended our relationship. SCOTTO: Why was that?

I knew too much.

No further questions, Your Honor.

DOCKNOVICH : You were let go as a cheerleader last year. . .

-. . .were you not? -Yes.

-What reason was given? -I turned 30.

And now you' re an assistant buyer at Neiman-Marcus?

-Right. -And you' re not bitter?

You don't resent the fact that Carla Latrell went from . . .

. . . being a cheerleader to being a front-office executive. . .

. . .to being the wife of a basketball star?

If I slept with whatever man could do me any good . . .

. . . I could have what Carla has too.

lnstead, I have my values, I have my character.

I have my self-respect.

And so you don't view the comings and goings of Carla and Rickey. . .

. . .and Sandy Fortas from a perspective of envy or bitterness?

No, I do not. I envy Carla nothing .

-Yes, that's quite apparent. -Objection, Your Honor.

DOCKNOVICH : I have no further questions.

We need to step in here for a moment.

When you are on trial for murder, you wanna do everything you can. . .

. . .to prevent your lawyers from being surprised in court.

We did not know that was going to come out.

Tonight we have to talk about what Carla is gonna say. . .

LATRELL: I got lucky. God granted me the athletic talent. . .

. . .to play basketball on a professional level .

I received a lot of help to get through school .

That means I make a lot of money right now .

But that does not mean that I' m Jesus Christ.

That does not mean you should line up and do whatever I tell you to do.

But I've been alive about 1 0 years longer than most of you.

There are some things I've learned . Number one. . .

. . .each of you has the power to make a positive contribution in this world .

Number two, there's no one so strong that drugs cannot destroy them .

Number three, it's a big, complicated world out here.

The more education you have, the better equipped you are for it.

Now, I've been blessed with great teachers in my life.

My grandmother. My coach, Al Vitello.

My friend Sandy Fortas, may they all rest in peace.

Look to the teachers in your lives.

Learn from them . Honor them . Respect them .

Because even when they' re gone, even when they go and die on you. . .

. . .and one day they all will . . .

. . .they'll always live on inside you.

And you'll be grateful that they' re there.

-Yeah? -What's gonna happen to you?

I don't know . All I can say is that...

. . . I have faith in the American justice system .

And I' m looking forward to taking the witness stand and telling my story.

I' m looking forward to looking people in the eye. . .

. . .and telling them exactly who I am .

That, and my faith in God, will get me through this.

SCOTTO: Were you ever romantically involved with Sandy Fortas, Ms. Latrell?

CARLA: Yes, I was.

-Would you tell us when that was? -I' m not sure of the exact dates.

I do know whenever it was, it was before I met Rickey.

Was the defendant aware of your romantic involvement?

I told him before we got married .

And I've been completely faithful to him since.

SCOTTO: So when Rickey met with Sandy Fortas on the day of the murder. . .

. . . he was aware of the fact that you had had that affair?

-Yes. -ls it your testimony that your husband . . .

. . .was not jealous over your previous involvement with Sandy Fortas?

I've never given my husband any reason to be jealous.

That's not what I asked, ma'am .

He wasn't jealous of anyone. Least of all, Sandy Fortas.

SCOTTO: Nothing further, Your Honor.

Did you and your husband ever socialize with Sandy Fortas and his wife?

Yes, on many occasions.

-Ever have them over to your house? -Yes.

-They ever have you over to their house? -Yes, they did .

On these occasions, was your husband upset. . .

. . .that you and Mr. Fortas had previously been romantically involved?

If he was, I didn't know about it.

And I don't think that's possible.

I know my husband very well .

Your husband was unfaithful . You didn't know about that.

My husband was a professional basketball player on the road .

Yes, he tried to conceal some things from me.

But in the end, he couldn't do it.

He swore to me that he would never be unfaithful again.

And I do believe he's been true to that.

DOCKNOVICH : Did it ever occur to you to exact revenge?

No.

My feeling is you either make your marriage work. . .

. . .or you make other arrangements.

I'd never put our children through the pain of living in a household . . .

. . .where people were exacting revenge.

DOCKNOVICH : Carla, to the best of your knowledge, did your husband trust you?

Yes, sir. I've never given him any reason not to.

I have no further questions.

Re-direct, Your Honor.

Ms. Latrell, you said that your husband wasn't upset.

You said that he trusted you.

But isn't it human nature, given that Rickey got busted himself. . .

. . .for being unfaithful, that even if he was upset, even if he didn't trust you. . .

. . . he would've kept those feelings to himself?

I would've known about it.

SCOTTO: I submit this police report as people's Exhibit Number 1 9.

IINDISTINCT WHISPERING]

-So ordered . SCOTTO: One day.

Just one day before the murder of Sandy Fortas. . .

. . .the Las Vegas Police Department responded to a report. . .

. . .of violence at your home, did they not?

An obnoxious neighbor made that report. There was no violence of any kind .

Rickey and I were having an argument.

And what was the argument about?

He was late picking up our daughter from preschool .

That's all it was about. That's it.

This would have been in no way related to Sandy Fortas?

No. lt would not have been.

There's no question but that the jury wants to hear. . .

. . .a declaration of innocence from Rickey's own mouth.

-Yeah, but do they need to hear it? -I think they do.

I agree.

If we don't put him on the stand . . .

. . .we'll never overcome the inference that he's got something to hide.

Given that the prosecution's case, while not airtight. . .

. . .is not something to be taken lightly, I think we gotta put him up there.

And who's gonna prep him?

You can do a better impersonation of a prosecutor than either of us.

Let's talk about your meeting with Sandy Fortas on the day he was killed .

lt started with you and Sandy. . .

-. . .and Lee, right? -Yes.

Describe for us how that meeting started .

Lee laid out what the team's revenue would be for the next five years.

Plus he showed Sandy what the value of the championship would be.

And did Sandy accept these projections as being accurate?

No. Sandy didn't like anybody telling him his business.

Lee told him he didn't know anything about basketball and he was too cheap. . .

. . .to build a championship team .

I don't think Sandy was overly concerned about Lee's opinion of him .

-Don't joke. -I' m sorry.

-No, that's all right. APPLETON : Did there come a point. . .

. . .where it was suggested that the process might be facilitated . . .

-. . .if Lee Michaelson were to leave? -Yes, there did .

-Who suggested that? -Sandy suggested it.

-And you went along with it? -Yes.

-Why? -We weren't getting anywhere. . .

. . .the way things were going . And what did I have to lose?

Describe what happened when Lee Michaelson left.

Sandy started talking about things that were bothering him .

His son, health problems, money he was losing .

Then he asked me how much of the salary demands I was making . . .

. . .was coming from me versus Lee Michaelson.

-How did you respond? -I told him Lee was my rep. . .

. . .and he was doing what I wanted him to do. Sandy said . . .

-. . .there was nothing left to talk about. -What happened then?

I left, I called Hilly, he picked me up and drove me to the airport. . .

. . .and I flew back to Vegas.

And Sandy Fortas was alive when you left him .

So help me God, Sandy Fortas was alive.

Okay, good . All right, there are a couple of points that we need to work on. . .

-. . . but basically that was it. -All right.

I' m gonna take you through the cross-examination.

Good .

Must be tough to trust people when everybody wants something from you.

-Do you find that to be so? -There's people I can trust. . .

-. . .and people I can't. -Which category did Sandy fall into?

I felt I could trust him .

You weren't happy with the deal he was offering you, though.

No, I wasn't.

-Were you prepared to walk? -Absolutely.

Given that Sandy Fortas was sort of a father figure to you. . .

-. . .wouldn't that have been difficult? -Difficult, but not impossible.

I mean, we' re all adults.

And when it comes to business, we take care of ourselves.

I want to talk to you about your wife.

Now, is she someone. . .

-. . .that you could trust? -Yes.

Even though you sat in this room and heard . . .

-. . .that she'd had an affair with Sandy. -Right.

-That didn't bother you? -I won't say it made me happy. . .

. . . but that was before I met Carla.

No, it didn't particularly bother me.

lt didn't prevent me from trusting her.

Let me ask you a question, Mr. Latrell, because we've all . . .

. . . been through moments like this. I mean, God knows I have.

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night. . .

. . .and look at your sleeping wife and wonder about her?

-No, I don't. -When you looked at Sandy Fortas. . .

. . .didn't you see someone who, at one point, used to be serviced . . .

-. . . by the mother of your children? -No, I did not.

Come on, Rickey. It's the oldest impulse in the world .

Are you gonna sit there and tell us that you didn't feel it?

They say when you bury a three-pointer with one second left. . .

. . .that you have ice water running through your veins.

But not when it comes to your wife.

-I don't know what you' re talking about. -Let me spell it out for you.

Your father figure helped himseIf to your wife, didn't he?

That was before Carla and I got together.

That doesn't mean it didn't happen. lt also means there's a history. . .

. . .created between them .

That fat old man made a little boy out of you.

Wait, wait, come on, now .

-He's not allowed to ask questions like-- -Don't look at her. Look at me.

I don't believe that you are telling the truth.

I don't believe you' re able to keep your base instinct in check. . .

-. . .like you say you are. -My base instinct?

Sandy Fortas insulted you by not paying you what you were worth.

He threatened to disclose the fact that you'd shaved points off a game. . .

. . .to pay a gambling debt, and he added your wife. . .

. . .to a list of attractive African-American women that he had slept with.

-Wait, Jimmy. -True or false? I' m not gonna wait.

And don't call me Jimmy. Once again. Sandy Fortas.

He didn't pay you, he threatened you, he had sex with your wife. True?

-True! -Put all those things together.

Didn't that make you wanna murder him?

Didn't it cause you to murder him?

Yes!

What?

Carla went to L.A. to see Sandy.

When she came back, she had the tape of me agreeing to shave points.

I asked her why he gave it to her, and she hedged .

She told me one thing, then she told me another.

Then she broke down.

She told me the price of getting that tape. . .

. . .was agreeing to go to bed with him again.

Now my first reaction was to strike out at her.

That's when the cops came.

And after thinking about it for a while. . .

. . . I realized I wasn't angry at her.

I was angry at him .

lt wasn't enough to confront him .

lt wasn't enough to hurt him .

I had to kill him .

And that's exactly what I did . I shot that sucker.

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